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I’m not sure if it’s the 60 straight hours of rain we had in the past three days, or the conversations I had last night with my fellow grad students, but today I’m thinking of home more than usual. Our conversation turned towards future plans, and where we’d like to end up, in the Boston area or elsewhere? My answer: The South. (Yes, in capitals.)

“Why?”, they wondered.

“Because it’s home.”

It’s home. It’s peaceful. Life is slower there. You can breathe. And count the stars.

Home is sleeping on a feather bed and waking up to roosters crowing. Home is seeing at least three people you know and ten you recognize on every outing. Home is laughter and family. Home is family reunions when summer is fading. Horseshoes. Washers. Fried Chicken. Holding babies. Sitting under shade trees. Home is swimming in the creek, or river, of it all else fails breaking out the water hose. Home is sweet tea and Nehi peach.

It is comfortable and comforting. Home envelops me as soon as the plane touches down. It wraps me up in its mountains and hills, in its long, winding, gravel roads. In the slow drawl that flows and rolls like molasses–the drawl that sounds like mine. It’s a feeling of calm, a feeling of no matter what else, if it all goes bad, at least I am here. I am here with these people who are just like me. People who know that the important things in life aren’t found on resumes, or in high culture, or in pretending that they have these things.

What matters is cousins playing, multiple generations around the same table, and laughing until you can’t breathe with your very favorite people in the world. Home for TeamEv will always be Kentucky, no matter the miles between us.

Here is the “Home” playlist on my iPod. We listen when we’re either 1) feeling especially homesick or 2) gearing up to go back for a trip.

Long As I Can See the Light–CCR

Home–Chris Daughtry

Green River–CCR

Small Town–John Mellencamp

Back Where I Come From–Kenny Chesney

All I Can Do is Write About It–Lynyrd Skynyrd

Fishin’ In The Dark–Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Home–Micheal Buble

Deeper Than The Holler–Randy Travis

Baby Girl–Sugarland

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2 responses to “Home”

Dear Rachel, Tears came to my eyes while reading this.I miss you both so much!! You have such a way with words especially the way you talked about home just now! These are the things that are truly important the simple things in life that all of us take for granted.I can’t wait to see you two again and I love you both very much!!! Becky